Waterstrider

Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Thirdmonth, 1634 PTS

I was leaning on the side of an alley, eating a skewer that I had purchased from a nearby street stall. In all honesty, I was somewhat disappointed in its flavor. Unlike back on Canvas, the cheap meat here was all lab grown on a budget, and as such there was something just slightly off about the taste. Still, it was good enough to justify its cheap price, and it would certainly fill my stomach.

I had angled my body so that my face could not be seen from the street, just in case someone who knew me might pass by. Several members of the Hadal Clan had seen my face, and it was possible the Heirs were still searching for me in this district as well. I had decided it was better to look odd and shifty than risk being recognized. I could sense occasional odd glances from passersby as I enjoyed my meal, but as expected they all soon looked away awkwardly.

I paused as I heard a voice whisper into my left ear.

“She says he’s been dosed. It should take effect in five minutes and last for fifteen.”

“I see. It’s finally time, then,” I said.

Silently, I stood up, quickly finishing my meal. After I ate the last bite I wiped the grease off on my robes as I merged with the walking traffic on the street, tossing the skewer into a nearby waste receptacle as I passed by.

I was only two streets away from the small compound that served as the headquarters for the Redwater Gang. At this time of day the area was fairly crowded, but my robes and sword allowed me to pass mostly unhindered. Mortals tended to avoid those who were obviously martial artists just in case. It was a wise creed to live by, at least for those who could afford to do so.

At the front entrance a bored martial artist who was merely at the peak of refining his foundation idly watched me approach, but gradually grew more attentive as it became clear that I was heading straight inside. Did Hidoro really assign such an important duty to what looked like a young teenager? I had no choice but to question his competence if so. Both his age and realm were both far too low to deter any would-be intruders.

To his credit he stood and blocked my way. I faced him down, not bothering to even touch my sword when facing one of his level. There was no point.

“I have business with Hidoro,” I told him. “I bid you let me pass.”

The kid trembled, presumably having sensed my partially formed cores.

“He- he said not to let anyone in while he was having dinner.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, unwilling to waste any more time. Faster than he could react, I closed the distance between us, my fingers poking into one of his meridian nodes and shoving a small burst of my own miasma inside. Immediately, he collapsed to the ground, paralyzed as his channels worked to fight off the foreign miasma.

“My apologies,” I said. “You should be able to clear it within a few minutes, and it’ll be good training for you.”

I wasn’t lying. Back home, my master had made me train by fighting off afflictions from all types of foreign miasma. I had found that it helped me better understand how to control my own. As the boy seized on the ground, I walked past him and into the headquarters.

The building was clean enough to indicate that something was taking care of it, but not enough to indicate that they had put a lot of effort into the task. It was largely empty as I made my way through it according to directions given to me by Rachel’s voice in my ear.

None of those I passed gave me a second glance, presumably thinking I wouldn’t be inside if I didn’t belong. It didn’t take long for me to find myself entering a large dining room that had the vibe of a tavern. Martial artists ate, drank, and enjoyed the company of the beautiful courtesans who served them.

It took me a couple moments to track down Hidoro. He looked as he had in the pictures I had seen of him: a tall, muscular farsei man with a pretty face and an aura befitting his power. The data had also described him as a bit of a womanizer, information which also seemed to have been accurate. He was seated on one of the benches chatting with an attractive farsei courtesan who seemed oddly familiar. For a moment I squinted my eyes, trying to place her before I was interrupted by Rachel’s whisper.

“Hmm? That’s Yun, why hasn’t she left yet?”

The comment made me certain of my hunch, and I sighed. She looked pretty different with the expertly applied makeup of a high end courtesan, but it was undoubtedly Yun. I imagined she had intended to sneak away, but was unable to leave without notifying Hidoro that something was off. I hoped she wouldn’t end up dragged into it any further. Even at the best of times, fighting nearby a poison artist was a risky endeavor.

I received some looks as I entered the room, mostly confusion as the slightly inebriated gangsters realized that a stranger was here. Yun gave me a quick apologetic glance before returning to talking with Hidoro.

The glance told me all I needed to know. She planned to continue pretending to be a mere courtesan, at least for now. I intended to comply with her wishes. It was in my best interest for her to remain uninvolved.

I flared my dantians, causing torrents of formless miasma to cascade through my meridians, lightly dissipating into the air around me. Every martial artist in the room turned, their attention drawn by the force that cascaded violently through me. With their attention drawn, I slowed the miasma’s flow until it returned to being under my full control. I looked at Hidoro. He was watching me, and our gazes locked. I smiled at the man.

“You’re the Riverfiend,” he said, his matter-of-factness surprising me somewhat. “Did you have business with me?”

I remained still, gaze still locked on him.

“My name is Cyrus Yu,” I replied. “And I would say that we do have business.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Should we speak in private?”

The question was unsurprising. He had likely already guessed my business with him, or at least he had likely sensed my murderous intent. Yet he was not particularly wary of me. I supposed it came with the territory. It would have been unusual or even cowardly for a spirit refiner of his talent to be wary of a mere core formation practitioner. It seemed the poison had yet to kick in. Perfect.

“There is no need,” I replied.

I slid my sword from its sheath, and even the slowest of those in the room understood what was happening. Nervous looks and mocking scorn filled the room. There were those who feared for themselves, those who had heard over-hyped tales of my prowess over the past few weeks, and those who jeered at me, expecting Hidoro to defeat me in moments. I suspected they would soon find themselves sorely mistaken.

Hidoro laughed as he stood, turning down momentarily to look at Yun.

“Wait just a few moments, please,’” he said, “we’ll continue our discussion after I handle this pesky insect.”

Most of the courtesans scampered from the room, leaving a few stragglers along with the assortment of martial artists. None of the gangsters had left, choosing instead to stay and watch the duel that would soon be happening. Yun hadn’t moved either, and was relaxedly taking a bite of a platter of food that was left in front of where Hidoro had been seated. Did she really not intend to take the opportunity to leave?

I returned my attention to Hidoro, wanting to avoid the chance that someone noticed my fixation on what they would have believed to be a simple courtesan. He slid out his sword as he approached me, standing a bit more than three meters away.

“So, Mister Riverfiend, what ‘business’ did we have to discuss.”

I smiled at him.

“I’m here on behalf of the Charging Puma Martial Academy. I offered to help them out, but sadly I lack the funds to pay for their debt.”

Hidoro burst out with a surprised laugh.

“You’re wanting to recruit Cinto? Good luck with that. She’s a coward and a traitor. Still, you can’t have her.”

“And why’s that?”

It was an idle question, but I wished to delay until the poison took effect, as he seemed unaffected so far. It was taking longer than Yun had claimed it would.

His eyes narrowed and his face turned slightly pale as he began channeling his miasma. A light green mist flared behind him like a shroud, pushing violently through the air behind him. A slight wind started to form throughout the room.

“Because she’s mine, upstart. There is nothing I claim as mine which you have the power to grasp. You are an offender guilty of hubris, and in your arrogance you have disrupted a fine meal with a beautiful woman. You really have no sense of the vast gulf which lies between our realms of power.”

He smiled in a crazed, almost insane-looking manner as he raised his sword, beckoning me forward with a mocking laugh.

“I shall teach you the difference between us, so that you may die educated.”

I smiled back at him, myself just as hungry for the fight ahead as he was.

“We shall see whose turn it is to be educated about hubris.”

I shifted into the first form of my Downpour Sword Art, my miasma stirring as I prepared to send myself into full motion. The time had come. Hidoro seemed unaffected by poison, and if for some reason he hadn’t been affected by the dose, my death would be imminent.

Meridian Nodes: [While all Seiyal have meridians, they are only active for those who have awakened the senses of their soul through their dantians. For martial artists, meridians are vital for control over their body, particularly after they have finished shifting the location of their meridians to establish a better schema. However, the nodes between individual meridians are vital points, and as such can be vulnerable. A martial artist with particularly good senses and training can pick out these points on another martial artist's body, something which can be used for both acupuncture techniques for healing and in combat to disable an opponent in various ways. In addition, miasma can be injected into someone else's body using these nodes, an effect which can cause internal damage if the victim's attention isn't fully focused on eliminating the foreign energies. This technique is considered dishonorable by some, but as it can only affect those of a lower realm, it is permitted by both the orthodox and unorthodox paths.]